As part of our Northumberland at War project one of our volunteers was given the task to list the contents of an old volume [Ref – ZRI 58] which on the front in red letters were the words ‘The Great War’ with three stars underneath writing and three canons above. To our surprise when we opened this volume it was not relating to the war, but was a lovely and interesting collection of letters and newspapers cuttings relating to the sad death of 2nd Viscount Ridley.
Viscount Ridley was born 6th December 1874. The eldest son of Viscount Ridley & Mary Georgina Marjoribanks the daughter of the First Lord Tweedmouth. He was Conservative and Unionist Member of Parliament for Stalybridge & Duckinfield, Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Northumberland and Chairman of the Tariff Reform League.
At the outbreak of war he was the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Northumberland Yeomanry Hussars and he was bitterly disappointed when his health prevented of him from joining his Regiment in France when they left for the front in October 1914. However, he remained in close contact with them and visited them at the Front.
He was also Honorary Colonel of the 5th Battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers. In 1899, he married the Hon. Rosamund Cornelia Gwladys Guest the youngest daughter of the First Baron Wimborne and a first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. During their marriage they had a son & and two daughters.
He died on 14th February 1916, after years of severe pain due to an intestinal problem for which he had a number of operations, ‘The last one left him in a condition of great prostration from which he never rallied.’
He was well respected nationally and locally as can be seen by the collection of newspaper cuttings in the album following his death. The volume contains many letters of condolence including a telegram from King George V and Queen Mary, letters from prominent Politian’s, including Rt. Hon. A. Bonar-Law, Rt. Hon. A. Chamberlain and his wife Mary, Rt. Hon. Thomas Burt. There is also a very poignant letter from his Constituency Agent J. Greenwood which is personal rather than the formal letters of condolence which were sent at the time. There are also personal letters to Lady Ridley from family and friends.
Many of the letters in the volume came from local people who knew him through his good works, including a pencilled note from W. Ferguson an old miner with whom he played cricket.
The newspaper obituaries were extracted from local and national newspapers and include photographs and reports of his funeral at St Mary the Virgin, Stannington and a Memorial Service at St. Margaret’s Westminster, both on the 19 February 1916.
We would like to express our sincere appreciation to Maggie Neary & Paul Ternent [Project Volunteer Manager] for supplying this article for our Northumberland At War Project.
